| 词源 |
gymnast; gymnasium; gymnite. Greek athletes were re- quired to train in the nude to allow their bodies maximum freedom of movement. The famous Olympic track meets were run in the nude, wrestlers competed naked, and all exercises were performed without clothes. Thus the Greek word gymna- zo, “to train naked,” gives us the words gymnast (literally some- one in the nude exercising), and gymnasium, a place where naked exercises are done. The ancient Greeks considered the physical training of boys and young men as essential as mental training, and one of the best gymnasiums in Athens was in Pla- to’s Academy. An amusing sidelight on all this nudity is the mineral gymnite, a hydrated silicate of magnesium, so named because it is found at Bare Hills, Maryland. |